Palghat Kollengode Viswanathan Narayanaswamy

Palghat Kollengode Viswanathan Narayanaswamy (15 November 1923 - 1 April 2002) was an Indian musician, widely considered among the finest Carnatic music vocalists of the 20th century. Born in Palghat, Kerala, he began extensive training under mridangam maestro Palghat Mani Iyer, then studied under C.S. Krishna Iyer and violinist Papa Venkataramaiah. In 1942, he took the transformative step of gurukulavasam under Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, remaining his ardent disciple until the latter's death in 1967. His major breakthrough came at a 1951 Madras Music Academy concert, substituting for his guru. He served as professor of music at Wesleyan University, Connecticut (1965-1967) and toured the US coast-to-coast, performing at the Hollywood Bowl alongside Bismillah Khan, Ali Akbar Khan, and Ravi Shankar. He was awarded the Sangeetha Kalanidhi by the Madras Music Academy in 1986.